Oslo, Norway

GENERAL LOCATION: Oslo, Norway’s capital, sits on the southern coast, at the head of the Oslofjord.

WHO CAN GO: The Oslo ROCKS! program is open to undergraduate and graduate students and interns, as well as post-graduate interns, non-traditional students, professionals and experienced travelers looking for a unique experience.

When summer dawns, Norwegians draw back their blinds, open their doors, breathe in the fresh air and head onto the streets to ROCK! Home to major international music festivals, an abundance of venues and the birthplace of Black Metal, Oslo is the perfect setting for budding or professional journalists (print, Web, photo, multimedia) and graphic designers to practice working an international music and culture beat. Also, Norwegian language students can hone their language skills as an interpreter, working alongside our journalists and designers.

Oslo ROCKS! Music and Culture Journalism

As a student in the Rock Journalism program, you will have a one-of-a-kind experience. You will be a true music and culture journalist, spending your days learning about the music scene, language and culture, and your nights experiencing it firsthand. From the day you land to the day you leave, your immersion reporting will put you in front of major national and international stars, local talent searching for their break and an ocean of unique and interesting fans, supporters, producers, technicians, promoters and more.

In 2016, our student journalists covered the citywide Oslo Musikkfest, which featured 400 bands across the city packed into 12 hours: Muse at Telenor Arena; Ozzie and Alice at Tons of Rock Festival; Wilco and Israel Nash at Norwegian Wood; Tom Jones and Travis at Over Oslo Festival; Silvana Imam at Oslo Pride Fest; Ghost at Bergen Fest; local artists at venues and squats; and countless artists, musicians, critics and regulars of the scene.

But it’s not just the music – there is so much more to Norway. Our reporters interviewed refugees, the Norwegian filmmaker behind the documentary “Drone,” residents of squat houses, tattoo artists, Christian revivalists in a predominantly Atheist country, LGBT activists, street artists, politicians, a tour company owner who has brought more than 120 groups of American Norwegians to the homeland, the Norwegian ambassador to Bulgaria, athletes, fishermen, chefs, shop owners, an American family meeting their ancestral family for the first time … and the list goes on. Yet they barely scratched the surface.

Led by veteran journalists, photojournalists and educators, in partnership with the Fargo-based High Plains Reader, you will produce real stories, photos and multimedia for a U.S. and international audience. The Oslo ROCKS! program aims to jump-start your career by offering you real experience covering the world stage. Check out our 2016 stories, photos and blogs at (http://hpr1.com/index.php/feature/hpr-abroad/).

Norwegian Language and Interpreting

If it’s not the music or the storytelling that is driving you to think about a trip to Norway, maybe it’s the language. Our program is headquartered at the premiere Norwegian language school in Oslo, and for four weeks we will be surrounded by top educators in the field. If you are interested in honing your Norwegian language skills while immersed in the culture, this will be the perfect trip for you. As a Norwegian interpreting student, you will receive language instruction from Alfaskolen and assist our journalism students in their research and interviewing. Join our team and help us continue to tell the stories of the greatest music city in Europe.

Oslo, the capital of Norway, sits on the country’s southern coast, at the head of the Oslofjord, and is known for its expansive green spaces and museums. Many of these are on the Bygdøy peninsula, including the Norwegian Maritime Museum; the Vikingskipshuset, with ships from the 10th century; and the Norsk Folkemuseum, with artifacts from Sami and Viking cultures. Other attractions include the Munch Museum; the Oslo Opera House; Holmenkollbakken, the site of the Olympic ski jump; fjord tours; the Nobel Peace Center; the royal palace and so much more.

A student holding a pass to the Norwegian Wood Rock Festival.

Your Stay in Norway

Supporting us in and around Oslo will be the Alfaskolen language school, officially recognized by Vox, the Norwegian Agency for Lifelong Learning. Alfaskolen will provide interpreters and language and culture instruction. If you’re already a student of Norwegian language, you’ll have the opportunity to practice more advanced skills. If you’re new to the language, you’ll learn enough to survive and work successfully with interpreters. Many Norwegians speak English, so it’s an excellent opportunity to hone your international journalism skills in a friendly environment.

Students will have secure suite-style housing in or near Oslo city center and our program headquarters at Alfaskolen. Typical housing units will sleep four students and have one bathroom, a kitchenette, a commons area and free Wi-Fi.

Students must bring their own mobile phones, laptop computers, DSLR cameras, SD cards, voice recorders (or smart phone) and personal reporting material. If you don’t have these items, please discuss technology options with the program director. The program will provide some specialized equipment as needed.

Experience and University Credit

The Oslo ROCKS! program is open to undergraduate and graduate students and interns, as well as post-graduate interns, non-traditional students, professionals and experienced travelers looking for a unique experience.

Undergraduate students will receive three credits and a grade from our partner institution, the University of Jamestown. The credits are transferable, and we will help you get them accepted at your university for upper-division credits in journalism, communication or electives.

Faculty

Aker Brygge – the popular entertainment and shopping area

Steve Listopad (Program Director) is a Ph.D. candidate at North Dakota State University and has been an assistant professor of journalism and mass communication and student media director at the University of Jamestown and Valley City State University in Norwegian-rich North Dakota. He has taught journalism and media in China (2013); Nice, France (2014); Florence, Italy (2015); and Oslo (2016). Before teaching, Listopad worked for New Line Cinema in Los Angeles, and he reported for a daily newspaper, an alternative weekly newspaper and a military newspaper.

Robert Reeder (ieiMedia Fellow) served on the faculty for ieiMedia in Urbino, Italy (2014); Florence, Italy (2015); and Oslo (2016). He has taught photojournalism as well as mentored graduate photojournalism students at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington. Before that, he lived and worked in Amman, Jordan, and Chisinau, Moldova, photographing political struggles in the former Soviet state while also teaching at the Independent Journalism Center.

Lori Listopad (ieiMedia Fellow) is the director of retention and academic advising at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota and a student at Mitchell Hamline College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her graduate and undergraduate degrees are in mass communication. Prior to working in higher education, Listopad was a reporter and morning anchor at KSAX-TV in Alexandria, Minnesota.

James Carviou (ieiMedia Faculty) is an assistant professor of convergent journalism and public relations in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Missouri Western State University. He serves as the adviser for the Griffon Yearbook. Carviou has a multifaceted background in journalism education that bridges the gap between the academy and best practices in the field.

Curt Chandler (ieiMedia Faculty) teaches multimedia reporting and journalism entrepreneurship at Penn State University. He has more than 25 years of industry experience as a visual journalist, writer and manager. Chandler was the editor for online innovation at post-gazette.com in Pittsburgh and taught photojournalism at Duquesne University before becoming a full-time educator in 2007. He has coached student journalists doing field work in Brazil and Hong Kong. He conducted the first multimedia workshop for the Vatican press corps in Rome. He is a video coach for the National Press Photographers Association and the Online News Association.

Stacie Paulsen Chandler (Visiting Journalist) is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She has been a police reporter and copy editor at the Colorado Springs Sun; the editor of special advertising sections and the director of the Newspapers in Education program at the Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner; the Director of Communications at the Mon Valley Initiative in Pittsburgh; and editor of The Bulletin, a monthly newspaper in Pittsburgh.

Kay Beckermann (Visiting Journalist) is a second-year Ph.D. student with the North Dakota State University Department of Communication. Kay teaches introductory and advanced media writing and reporting classes, advises the university’s newspaper staff and coordinates interns for the department. In her free time, Kay is a board member of the Fargo Moorhead Area Youth Symphonies, serves on The Arts Partnership’s re-granting committee and works to save historic cemeteries from flooding caused by the proposed FM Dam.

Raul Gomez (Publisher/Media Partner) Raul is the publisher and art director of the High Plains Reader. He loves the arts, travel and good people. Over the last 20 years, he has worked with young designers, photographers and writers, fostering new talent in the Fargo-Moorhead community.

Sabrina Hornung (Editor/Media Partner) is a photographer, writer and editor for the High Plains Reader, Fargo-Moorhead’s favorite alt weekly. She is a visual artist with an old soul and a mean case of wanderlust.

Keith Jones (Photographer/Media Partner) is an educator and part-time photographer with a wanderer’s spirit. As an educator, he is passionate about geography, foreign governments and history.

The beach at Bygdøy, the fjords on the Norway in a Nutshell cruise, and the city of Bergen on Norway’s west coast.

Application Process

Students must fill out the online application and include contact information for two references (academic and/or professional) using the “Apply Now” link below. A $150 application fee is required with the application but will be returned if a student is not accepted into the program. Application deadline: rolling admission until the program fills.

Students Say...

“The ieiMedia program really opened up my horizons; I’d never done video or web or really any photography before and it was fascinating to see how each one told a story differently. I’m hooked on video now and can’t wait to bring what I learned back to my college paper.”by Alyssa Coltrain, Dickinson College, The Urbino Project 2009